Sully the Spaniel Voted the UK's Best Pet Friend and earns a LEGO® model for special services to friendship
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and earns a LEGO® model at the LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort for special services to friendship

Monday 27 July 2015: A one year old Sprocker Spaniel has been declared the UK’s best furry friend after helping an eight year old girl and her family deal with life changing tragedy. Ella Harvey, whose father Gavin, lost both legs on a tour of duty in Afghanistan* nominated the bouncy puppy for helping to get the family active together and his special bond with her. The canine will be rewarded for his services to friendship with a LEGO® place of honour at the new LEGO Friends Heartlake City area at the LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort.

The Harvey family got Sully when he was just 12 weeks old in a bid to get them active together as a family. Ella’s mum Kerry explains, “There’s so much physically that we can’t do together as a family with Gavin’s injuries and we thought having a dog could help us get more active. A year later, it’s undoubtedly worked wonders for us. We walk Sully together regularly and he is a wonderful stress reliever and calming influence for all of us when we might be having a bad day. Although the incident was six years ago, there are still some days that are very stressful and Sully helps us cope, especially Ella and her little sister Millie. One of Ella’s favourite things is climbing up on to her Dad’s wheelchair with Sully for cuddles. He’s undeniably helped us and the bond between Sully and Ella is quite extraordinary; he really is her best friend.”

The search for the nation’s best pet friend was launched by the LEGOLAND Windsor Resort when a recent survey confirmed the unbreakable bond between children and their pets, with one in six saying their animals were better friends than their human buddies. Sully was named the ultimate Best Furry Friend in a Facebook poll and in recognition of his unique friendship with Ella the handsome brown and white spaniel will now be recreated in LEGO to take up permanent residence at the world famous Resort.

Animal mad Ella, a pupil at Sandroyd Preparatory School also has a pony, cats and a fish and was delighted to hear her best furry friend has now been declared the nation’s Best Furry Friend, “I’m really excited and I can’t wait for Sully to see himself in LEGO! Sully is my best furry friend because he makes me happy and helps me feel calm when I’m worried - he is great for cuddling when we feel sad.”

“The unbreakable bond between children and their pets are a key element in the new LEGO Friends area, Heartlake City”, commented LEGOLAND Windsor Resort’s, PR Manager, Lauren Moss. “We wanted to celebrate the special relationship between young girls and their pets so searched to find the nation’s favourite BFF (Best Furry Friend) and immortalize them in LEGO for all of our guests to meet. Ella and Sully were clear winners on our Facebook poll so we are looking forward to Sully meeting LEGO Sully later this summer.”

The family including Sully will visit the Resort to unveil his LEGO model at the end of August.

Gavin Harvey was a Sergeant in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and was injured in a routine manouevre in 2009, losing both legs and suffering internal injuries. He lives in Salisbury with his wife Kerry and two daughters Ella (eight years old) and Mille (six).

Notes To Editors:* The search for the best dog friend was sparked by results from a survey marking the opening of a new LEGO® Friends area, Heartlake City at the LEGOLAND Windsor Resort. The new area explores youngsters’ friendships with their pets, and nearly two thirds of pet owning girls (aged 6-12) agreed that dogs make the best animalfriends, only one in five opting for cats and ponies chosen by just 6%. The Poll was conducted amongst 1000 pet owning 6-12 year old girls nationwide by Censuswide between 17 and 23 June.• The LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort is a unique family theme park where children aged 2 -12 can take to the road, soar through the skies and sail the seas in complete safety. It has over 55 interactive rides, attractions, live shows, building workshops and driving schools, not to mention a staggering 80 million LEGO® bricks, all set in 150 acres of beautiful parkland.• The LEGOLAND Windsor Resort opens from March 13 – 2 November 2015. It is closed on selected midweek days in April, May, September, October and November. For further details please check www.LEGOLAND.co.uk • There are five other LEGOLAND® parks in the world – LEGOLAND® Billund in Denmark, LEGOLAND® California in the U.S.A, LEGOLAND® Florida, LEGOLAND® Deutschland in Germany and LEGOLAND® Malaysia. • MERLIN ENTERTAINMENTS plc is the leading name in location-based, family entertainment. Europe’s Number 1 and the world’s second-largest visitor attraction operator, Merlin now operates 109 attractions, 12 hotels/4 holiday villages in 23 countries and across 4 continents. The company aims to deliver memorable and rewarding experiences to its almost 63 million visitors worldwide, through its iconic global and local brands, and the commitment and passion ofits managers and c26,000 employees (peak season).• Among Merlin’s attractions are - SEA LIFE, Madame Tussauds, LEGOLAND, The London Eye, Dungeons, Gardaland, LEGOLAND Discovery Centres, Alton Towers Resort, Warwick Castle, THORPE PARK Resort, Blackpool Tower, Heide Park Resort, Sydney Tower Eye and SKYWALK. All brands which are distinctive, challenging and innovative – andwhich have great potential for growth in the future. Visit www.merlinentertainments.biz for more information.